Slub yarn apparatus



April 16, 1940. .1. G. KERSHAW SLUB YARN APPARATUS Filed Aug. 8, 1938 3SheetsSheet l W f M mm W Z Wm 2 April 16, 1940.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE. 3.

' 16, 1940. J. G. KERSHAW SLUB YARN APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledAug. 8, 1938 Patented Apr.16,1940 a 2,197,697

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLUB YARN APPARATUS John Green Kersliaw,Westmount, Quebec,

Canada, assignor to Dominion Textile Company Limited, Montreal, Quebec,Canada, a corporation of Quebec, Canada Application August 8, 1938,Serial No. 223,736 In. Canada May 23, 1938 8 Claims. (01. 57-38) Thisinvention relates to apparatus for produc- It is a further object of theinvention to furnish ing slub yarn, positive advantages in simple slubmotion for Yarn of this nature is used for weaving fabeasy attachment toexisting spinning frames ric, in which the raised portions, occasionedby Without change in the latter. It is a further obthe slubs, create adesirable effect. This effect ject to provide a motion of this naturewhichmay 5. may be altered in many ways by varying the beused inconjunction with other motions and lengthand spacing of the slubs duringthe formawhich may be adapted to operate both sides of tion of the yarn.In most cases a random eirect the pi n n fr me. I is a s ll fur h robjec t is sought for so that there will be no semblance p vide a deviceof this nature embodying ele- 10 of pattern in the fabric. Variousmechanisms ments p rm f extremely fl x l adjustment employed forproducing this yarn have embodied and control of the slub length so thatHymalaya" means for varying the slub length and spacing, loth ofpractically any slub effect may be P but their scope of operation hasgenerally had duced. f a

limitations preventing their practical application With these and otherobje in View, the P lfr t th du ti of t i types of 1 1 yarn, cipalfeaturesvof the invention are embodied in particularly that of r theHymalaya type, inapparatus employed in conju W a sp cluding very longslubs and a very long repeat. hing frame t increase the p d Of t e b ear d Yarn of this type is particularly desirab1e 11; middle rolls atintervals, while alternately congives a remarkable random effect in thefabric. meeting the b r011 drive Shaft With an auxiliary I One type ofslub motion in general use includes 8111b p one Of these features is p20 a chain provided atintervals with gearsegments Ciel Op through a!pawl. e d-l ver t0 adapted to speed up the back and middle rolls of Openand Close at a justed intervals a clutch con-' spinning frame byengaging a a connected nection between the back roll drive shaft and.the with them. The chain must move fast enough S Speed driVe- The Gemis'eideipted to move .25 to be able to impart to these rolls a greaterthan x remely slowly to allow the prod of y normal speed, a long repeatthus requiring acondifferent 5111b lengths and SPe-eingS Withoutpesiderable length of chain. The same remarks titiOh, b t t t e Sametime the pawl and peapply in a lesser degree to slub motions employripheral surface of the cam are so constructed ing a clutch operated bya chain having risers and ed o pe te in the rapid closin of actuatingthe clutch lever. In this case also the t ehto void in ury o themechanism or 0 chain must move fast so as to close the clutch to the y nby causing an instantaneous p d sharply, to prevent injury to themechanism or e. A150, the shellp-mevemeht Of'the p the yarn. Moreover,chain devices are generally independently of the 5111b Speed, permitsthe P inconvenient as compared with those which are duction o re y s o su s even at the very gear driven. slow cam speed. 35. There are alsoearn operated slub motions which Other features of the invention arealso im are only satisfactory in producing relatively shortperterltihsteheerthe Particular Cam slubs and relatively short repeats,'In these moc udes a number of adiustably u ted se ments.

. tions t pawl i lifted sharply by engagement the arrangement of whichcreates the desired pe- 40 with anecessarily fast moving cam element.Conripherel repeat on the C The ve of the cam 40 sequently, therespective slub lengths are repeated h h a redlleihg a ys em from thefront frequently-t0 create the undesirable effect of uniroll'drive shaftof the spinning frame permits its formity. Furthermore, itis'impractic-al to pros w m n timed t t d a i operat on. duce on thistype of apparatus a yarn having long The nature of the cam and of itsdrive mechanism slubs or a long repeat since the cam must revolvepermits it he pieced line Position of y too fast. cess for adjusting thesegments, its face being It isto the production of the mixed long and prf bly in a diagon l position that a pat-' short slubs and the longrepeat required by the tern disc may be laid adjacent to it to assist inHymalaya type of yarn that the present invenpositioning of the segments.

tion has particular application. Thus, a main Having thus generallydescribed the nature of 50."

object of the invention is to provide means for the invention Particulare e ence will be made producing in yarn, slubs varying in length anytothe accompanying drawings illustrating a prewhere from a fraction of aninch to several yarns. ferred mechanical embodiment thereof, and in iand allowing, if necessary, for a very long repeat which? as. of severalthousand feet; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view partly inelevation through one side of a spinning frame embodying the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of one side of a spinning frame embodying aslub motion according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the spinning frame shown inFigure 2 also villustrating a part of the other side of the spinningframe.

Figure 4 is a detailed cross section illustrating the type of the clutchused in the apparatus of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 is a cross section along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view looking in the direction of the front ofthe cam showing the latter and the pawl and clutch mechanism of theapparatus illustrated in Figures 2 to 5,

Figure 7 is an enlarged side elevation of a segment removed from the camof Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross section along the line 88 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a plan View of a setting disc of the type employed to setthe segments on the periphery of the cam.

Figure 10 is an enlarged elevation taken in the direction of Figure 6illustrating particularly the manner of cooperation of the pawl and camperiphery.

The spinning frame Referring particularly to the drawings, A representsa conventional spinning frame including suitably mounted bobbins l 8,back rolls i2, intermediate rolls l3, and front rolls M. It will beunderstood that only one set of bobbins and one spindle is shown inFigure l and that in the remaining figures, with the exception of Figure3, only one side of the spinning frame is illmtrated, which is deemedsufficient for the understanding of one skilled in the art. The backrolls are driven by a back roll drive shaft 55 and the front rolls by afront roll drive shaft H5. The middle roll drive shaft Kid is drivenfrom the back roll drive shaft l5. In the spinning operation, whereinthe yarn is drawn out to a smaller diameter, the front rolls E lnormally revolve at a much greater speed than the back and middle rollsl2 and Hi, the speed ratio being determined to give the required draftto the yarn. For the produc' tion of ship yarn the back and middle rollsare caused, during adjusted intervals, to rotate faster than normal.

The yarn Y passes from the bobbins H, and is drawn out by first passingbetween the back rolls it, between intermediate rolls i3, and thenbetween the much faster moving front rolls M, and thence it is wound onto spindles 53 by spinning ring travellers. Thus, the spinning operationis accomplished by first drafting and then twisting the yarn.

The front, back, and middle roll drive shafts l5 and I6 and Eta aresuitably journalled in the frame A and extend from. end to end thereof,in the drawings these shafts being broken away towards the drive end,which, being customary mechanism, is not shown. I

The clutch The end of the shaft I6 is provided with a gear 59 adapted toserve as a Source of second or slub speed drive for the back roll driveshaft l5 above the gear i9 and meshing with it, mounted on a stub shaft29 journalled in the frame A, is a gear 2|. On the outer end of the stubshaft-23 is a gear 23 which meshes to the sleeve 2d of a clutch B freelyrotatable and laterally. slideable on the shaft it. The clutch sleeve 21 carries an inwardly disposed clutch face 25. A companion clutch face26 is keyed to the shaft l6 adjacent the face 25, the faces 25 and 28being normally urged apart, to open the clutch B, by a coil spring Zea.Through the mechanism described, the clutch face 25- is driven from theshaft l 6 so that when the clutch B is closed the shaft l5 becomesdriven from the shaft I E at a greater than normal, or slubproducing'speed, a one-way clutch in the normal drive connections of theshaft l5 permitting it to overrun its normal drafting speed. The speedof the middle roll drive shaft ifia is also increased through its driveconnection with the shaft l5.

The mechanism thus described, being of a conventional nature, is easilyunderstood. There with a gear 22 keyed will now be described a preferredmechanism for shifting the back and middle to slub speed and vice versa.

Extending, diagonally downward from. adjacent the front shaft 16, is ashaft 36 on the upper end of which is fixedly mounted a worm wheel 29,driven from the shaft through a worm 2? mounted thereon. The lower endof theshaft sec-arries a worm 3! engaging a worm-wheel 32 mounted on atransversely extending stub shaft 33 journalled in a bracket 34 forminga part of the frame A. The stub shaft 33 carries, adjacent its outerend, a gear 35 meshing with agear 36 rolls from normal mounted on theinner end of a parallel stub shaft 31 also Ejournalled in the bracket3d.

The cam The stub shaft 3'! carries on its outer end a bevel pinion 38.This pinion meshes with a bevel gear 39 mounted on a transverselyextending shaft as supported by the bracket t l. Mounted on the end ofthe shaft 50, to the back, relatively to the spinning frame, of thebevel gear 3Q, is a clutch controlling cam C which is a particularfeature of the present invention, being adapt-' ed to control theclosing and opening of the clutch B. From the above description it isseen that the cam C is rotatable from the front roll drive shaft l6. 1

The cam C is made up of a thick disc-like Wheel 56 centrally connectedto the end of the shaft 3 by a nut and washer 5i, threaded thereto andhaving on its face inside the periphery an annular' T-shaped groove :52.On the wheel 50 are mounted large and small segments 53 and 5 2respectively, each segment having a transverse body portion 56 overlyingthe periphery of the wheel 59, an arm 5? lying adjacent the face of thewheel and a finger 58 engaging an additional slot The segments arearranged on the cam so as to produce a peripheral surface havingdepressions of varying lengths depending upon the lengths of the slubswhich it is desired-to prowith a slub'speed drive.

back roll drive shaft of the opposite side F of cum: in the=-yarn.--Relatively short depressions in the peripheral surface are madebetween the oppositely inclined facesof adjacent oppositely registeringsmall segments 55 while long depressions in the surface are caused byleaving gaps 7 of's'ome-length between segments. It is thus evi-' dentthat various arrangements of the segments in this way permits of atremendous number of differentrepeats'. A corresponding number of.different repeats can-thus be produced in the yarn..- y

Thepawl Controlledfby the cam C to close and open the clutchBisa pawl D.This-pawl consists of a sleeve portion suitably mounted for freerotation on fa pin8I extending from a bracket 83 bolted to the frame ,A.This body of the pawl extends from the sleeve downwardly. at an angle toterminate in awedge-shaped tooth 84 adapted to abut the surface of thecam. The tooth 84 includes aface parallel to the inclined segment facesI52 adjacentthe' direction. of travel of the camas best illustrated inFigure 10, which is particularly important to allow the tooth 84 to movesharply into the depressions in the cam periphery independently of the,cam speed. Connected to a bolt 85a extending from the pawl adjacent'thetooth 84 is a coil tension spring 86 which extendsdownwardly'and isconnected toa bracket 81. extending from the frame A. This spring isadapted to urge the pawl tooth 84 forcibly against the peripheralsurfaceof the cam so as to cause'it. to enter the cam depressionsrapidly. Extending upwardly in the pawl from the sleeve 89 is a leverportion 88 provided'with an outwardly extending bolt 89 carrying anadjustable nut adapted to abut the end of a clutch actuator lever E. I

" The clutch actuator The lever E comprises a sleeve portion I00journalled on a diagonally extending shaft- IOI mounted on a bracket I02extending from the frame A: Fromthe lower end of the lever E and adaptedto abut the pawl D there projects downwards a nut I04 for contact withthe pawl nut 90. Extending upwardly from the sleeve portion- I00 isay'oke. I0-'I engaging the sleeve 24 of the clutch 13., In order thatthe lever E may also be adapted for actuation by an auxiliary cammechanism,;it is provided adjacent its lower end with a diagonally.extending arm I05 having a knife edge I06, adapted to engage the elementof an additional cam H. This arrangement is particularly convenient foruse'in connection with an auxiliary relatively high speed cam forproducing small slubs. within the spaces between the long-slubs createdby the action of the cam C.

From the foregoing description it is seen that both the moveable face 2|of the clutch B, and' the cam C are gear driven from-the front rolldrive shaft close the clutch B at intervals is the pawl D and the clutchlever E. Hence, a continuous operative cycle is provided by a positivegear drive from the front roll drive shaft I6. I

The linkage between clutches As already'stated, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide means operated by one slub motion forconnecting the back and middle roll drive shafts ofboth sides of thespinning frame This means is best illustrated in Figure -3, wherein" I20I8. Cooperating with the cam to representsthe pend of the clutchthe-spinning frame from that already described. On the end of this driveshaft is keyed the inwardly-disposed face I2I of a clutch C. Inside theface I2I on the shaft I20 is mounted a freely rotatable and axiallyslideable sleeve I22, carrying the other. clutch face -I23, to which'issecured a gear I25 driven as in the other side of the spinning framefrom the front roll drive shaft s'o thatthe clutch face I23 is driven ata slub producing speed. Thefaces IZl and I23 are-normally urged apart bya coil spring I20a.

A horizontally rotatable rocker arm I30 connects the axially moveablefaces 25 and I23 of the clutches B and G respectively. The arm I30 ispivotally (mounted on a vertical shaft I3I extending upwards from abracket I32 --in--the spinning frame-beingv held thereon by a nut- I33.The arm I39 is provided at each end with yokes I34 engaging the sleevesof the respective clutch faces 25 and I23.

By this linkage an inward movement of the clutch face 25, closing theclutch B, cause'sa cor responding outward movement of the clutch faceI23,,closing the clutch G. Thus, the cam mechanism C operates to shiftsimultaneously the back roll drive shaft of both sides of the spinningframe from normal to slub speed or vice versa.

The operation Having thus described the structure of the spin ning frameand the auxiliary slub producing apparatus, the operation of thismechanism will now be referred .to briefly. 'The periphery of the camCis first set, as described, by the adjustment of its various componentsegments 53 and 54 to present a peripheral surface of thedesired'conformation. To assist the arrangement of the segments, a discI40, as illustrated in Figure 9, may be laid alongside the cam face.Since a 'very small portion of the cam periphery may repre sent arelatively long slub, this adjustment must be accurate to produce theeffect desired without 29, the worm 3|, the worm wheel 32, the gear I35, the gear 36, the bevel pinion 38 and the bevel gear 39, to rotatethe cam C at a very low speed which, of course, may be adjusted bychanging the size or nature of the gears in the train- As this cam isrotated the pawl tooth 94 is held on the peripheral surface of thesegments until it reaches the top edge of a sloping face 62 of "one ofthe small segments, at which point/it is re leased and snaps downsharply into thedepres sion under the urge of the spring 86, the face 62of the segment forming a slide for the parallel face 86 of the pawl. Itis important to "note that the speed at which the pawl drops into thecam depression is quiteindependent of the speed at which the cam isrotating, thus permitting a very slow cam speed without reducing inanyway the efiiciency of the clutch closing action. As the pawl toothdrops into the depression of'the cam periphery, the upper portion 88 isforced outwardly against the clutch lever E, which'is also forcedoutwardly, forcing inwardly the upper lever carrying the yoke I01: 75'

chain must move fast enough This forces the slidable clutch face 25quickly into engagement with its companion clutch face 26 closing theclutch B and causing the shaft to rotate at the speed of the clutch face26, or in other words at slub producing speed. Through the linkage ofthe rocker arm 136 the clutch Gr is also closed and the shaft I29 causedto rotate at slub speed through gearing already described.

As the cam C continues to rotate the pawl tooth 84 rides along a gapbetween the segments; If it is a long depression, the tooth 84 rides onthe outer periphery of the wheel 50 between segments, before it islifted by the sloping face of a small segment, or, if it is a shortdepression, the sloping face of the small segment starts immediately tolift the tooth 84 fromthe depression to the surface of the segmentsmoving the upper portion 88 in an inward direction and allowing theupper end of the clutch lever E to move outwards under the urge of thespring macausing the clutch faces to part.

The action of the pawl in and out of the depressions is continuedaccording to the disposal of ,the segments on the cam periphery and theclutch is opened and closed accordingly, the closing of the clutchalways occurring instantaneously as the pawl is released by thesegments, the opening of the clutch always being caused as the pawl islifted by an inclined segment surface. As a result, slubs of varyinglengths, bearing a direct ratio to the length of respective depressionson the cam are produced. The length of the slubs and of the intervalsbetween them may be thus calculated in advance and the periphery of thecam adjusted by arrangement I of the segments to produce any desiredsequence of slubs.

Advantages summarized The following summarized advantages and the manyothers possible by the use of this mechanism will become obvious tothose skilled in the art.

(1) The mechanism is entirely gear operated, thus enjoying theadvantages associated with devices of this nature, and lacking thedisadvantages of chain operated mechanisms.

(2) The cam may be easily and accurately adjusted to give the desiredeffect owing to the manner of its construction; its position permitseasy access for the operator, and the use of a standard pattern disc toassist his arrangement of the segments.

(3) The motion may thus be used to produce slub yarn having slubs ofpractically any desired length, and an extremely large-number ofdifferent combinations without repetition of the repeat.

(4) The mechanism is extremely compact, making it practical to operate anumber of frames in the production of Hymalaya yarn, where it would beimpractical to use a number of the chain mechanism, owing to thecumbersome lengths of chain required.

(5) The cam may be operated at a very slow speed to produce a longrepeat since the clutching speed is independent of the cam speed, thespring-operated pawl being pulled down sharply from the surface of thesegments into each cam depression, to avoid injury to the mechanism orto the yarn. In apparatus in which the clutching speed is dependent onthe cam speed the cam or to avoid injury to the mechanism or to the yarnto obtain fast clutching, which distinctly limitsthe capabilities 'readyfurnished.

of theapparatus with regard to length of slub and length of repeat. Y

Practical example In order to further demonstrate the operation andadvantages of a cam constructed according to the present invention, anexample from actual practice will nowvbe given. v

A slub motion of the following dimensions was applied to a spinningframe:

Slubbing cam inches diameter 12 Slubbing cam including segments do 12%Front r011", do 1 The frame and the elements of the slub were adjustedto operate as follows: I

Front roll i; revolutions per minute 77 Yarn delivered inches per minute241.78 Slubbing cam, peripheral speed .'do 1:89 Slubbing cam, time forone revolution minutes 19.93 With these characteristics of structure andoperation, the following ratios were obtained:

The slubbing cam was required to travel .0078".

to produce 1" of slub.

A yarn was produced in which the length of the repeat was 4687.6" and inwhich characteristic lengths of slubs in the cloth and ground yarn inbetweenslubs, were as follows.

- In this particular example the long slubs pro- 50 duced by the camwere interspersed by short slubs produced by another motion. However, itis'obvious that by adjusting the lengths ofthe depressions betweensegments very short slubs could also be produced by the cam mechanism ofthe present invention despite its slow speed.

A quick inward motion .of the clutch is made possible by the urge of thespring upon the pawl.

'It is not wished that this example be considered in a limiting sensebut merely to add quantitative data to the qualitative description al- Iclaim: v t

1. A slub yarn producing attachment. for spinning'frames having a backroll and a front roll, a back roll drive shaft and a front roll driveshaft, normal drafting speed drive connection for said shafts, a slubspeed drive connection for said back roll drive shaft, a clutch forengaging said slub speed drive connection, a spring urging said clutch,from engagement with said slub speed drive connection, a clutch leverfor actuating said clutch, a rotatable cam for controlling the operationof said clutch,a vpawl operatively intervening said cam. and said clutchleveizmeans urging said .pawl tomove -said clutch into r engagedposition, elements on said cam to retain said pawl and clutch indisengaged position, said elements being selectively disposed to formtherebetween spaces adapted to free said pawl to permit its release toclose said clutch at selected intervals, said elements having inclinedfaces adapted to return said pawl to clutch disengaged position, a speedreducing drive connection between said front roll drive shaft and saidcam for rotating said cam at a low speed.

2. A slub yarn producing attachment for spinning frames as claimed inclaim 1 wherein certain of said elements include inclined faces at theentry-of said spaces, and saidpawl includes a face parallel to saidlast-mentioned inclined faces and adapted to slide thereupon during itsclutch engaging stroke.

3. In an apparatus of the nature described, a rotatable cam disc, aplurality of elements mounted on said disc to form a, continuous clongated cam surface, gaps of selected length between said elements atselected intervals, clutch actuator means normally held between saidelements to retain the clutch in disengaged position including acam-engaging pawl, means for moving said cam surface relatively to saidpawl, said clutch actuator. means being normally held by said elementsto retain the clutch in disengaged position, means acting independentlyof said cam on said actuator means, said gaps adapted to release saidactuatormeans for move- I ment of the clutch into engaged position.

4. In an apparatus of the nature describeda cam disc, an annularT-groove in the face of said disc and spaced from the periphery thereof,

a plurality of elements adjustably mounted on said disc to form aworking peripheral surface, each of said elements having an armoverlying the periphery of the disc and a shank overlying the facethereof, a T-bolt connected to each'element and engaging in said groove,a clutch actuatormember engaging the working surface of said cam tocontrol the movement of a clutch, means urging said clutch actuatormember against said working surface, said elements forming a pluralityof selectively spaced apart indentations of adjustable length.

5. In an apparatus of the nature described, a"

cam disc, a plurality of elements adjustably mounted on said cam disc toform a working surface thereon, each of said elements having an armoverlying the peripheral surface of the disc' and a shank overlying theface thereof, means for retaining said elements on said disc, certainadjacent segments having inclined faces forming therebetweenindentations, a clutch actuator pawl 'urged against said working surfacesaid pawl having a working surface parallel to th inclined segment facesforming the entry side of the indentations, and means for rotating saidcam disc.

6. A slub yarn producing attachment for spina back roll drive shaft anda front roll drive shaft, normal drafting speed drive connection forsaid shafts, a slub speed drive connection; for

said back roll drive shaft, a clutch for engaging said slubspeed driveconnection, a cam shaft, rotatable cam means mounted on said camshaft,

said'oam means having an elongated cam sur' face, a connecting shaftextending from adjacent said cam shaft to adjacent said front roll fdrive shaft, a worm of said connecting shaft, a

gear connection between said cam shaft and said wornna worm of saidfront'roll drive shaft,

a gear clutch in disengaged position, means acting independently of saidcam to urge said actuator means to move the clutch into engagedposition,

connection between said drive shaft worm and said connecting shaft,clutch actuator said cam being adapted to release and engage saidactuator means at selected intervals to cause engagement anddisengagement of said clutch. 7. A slub yarn producing attachment for aspinning frame having'front and back rolls on each side thereof, frontand back roll drive shaftsfor said front and back rolls, a normaldrafting speed connection for said front and back roll drive shafts, asupplemental different slub speed drive connection for each back rolldrive shaft,

a clutch on one back roll .drive shaft 'having an outer element moveableinwardly to engage a slub speed drive connection, a clutch on the otherback roll drive shaft having an inner element moveable outwardly toengage a slub speed connection rotatable cam means having a connectionwith said outer element, elements associated with said cam means adaptedto selectively and intermittently move said outer element into engagedor disengaged I position, linkage between said outer and inner elementswhereby a movement of said outer element causes a corresponding movementof said inner element.

8. An. apparatus for producing slub yarn for spinning frames having aback roll and a front roll, a back roll drive shaft and a front rolldrive shaft, normal drafting speed drive connection for said shafts, aslub speed drive connection for said back roll drive shaft, a clutch forengaging said slub speed, drive connection, a clutch actuator member, aclutch closing member normally' urged to move said actuator lever intoclutch engaged position, slowly moveable cam means for retaining saidclutch closing member in clutch open position and for retaining saidclutch closing member to clutch closed position, means for rotating saidcam means at a very slow speed to permit long intervals between themovements of said clutch, a clutch closing lever, anelement on saidlever for engagement by supplementary cam means operable when said leveris in said clutch open position to permit clutch closing movementsintermediate those occasioned by said cam.

' JOHN GREEN KERSI-IAW.

